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Thread: New Monitor(s)

  1. #1
    HEXUS.social member Allen's Avatar
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    New Monitor(s)

    I currently have a 23" Dell U2311H, it has an IPS panel and looks amazing. I used to have a 19" TN panel as well and apart from colours being more vibrant on the IPS panel and the screen being larger, I honestly couldn't tell that much difference when gaming. Watching DVD's/1080p streams were a different story, black look so washed out on the TN panel compared to the IPS. However, the TN panel died on me quite a while ago, so I've been using only the IPS monitor since. Is IPS worth the cost increase over TN for gaming these days?

    However, with Black Friday/Cyber Monday coming up, I have been keeping an eye out on Amazon Prime for the monitor deals to get back to a state of having dual monitors (to game on one, watch TV/surf on the other)... but I'm unsure on my options.

    Should I buy a new IPS monitor and use it for gaming and the Dell for video?
    Should I buy a new TN monitor and use it for gaming and the Dell for video?
    Should I buy two new TN panels and try and flog the Dell for a few quid?
    Should I buy upgrade to 1440p or stick with 1080p? (PC specs are up-to-date)
    Should I buy bigger than 23/24"? (my desk can easily handle 2 x 24" side by side with room to spare)

    Basically, it comes down to this, if you had my setup and £200 burning a hole in your back pocket, what would you do?

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    Re: New Monitor(s)

    Was your 19" screen cheaper and older than the U2311H? The distinctions you describe are more likely to be down to that than the difference between IPS and TN. In fact IPS-type LCDs tend to have slightly more washed out blacks (lower contrast) then comparable quality TNs.

    LG's Adaptive Sync 2560x1080 screens are interesting. Nominal diagonal is 29" but because they're a different aspect ratio they're not as big as they sound. They're essentially a 23/24" 1920x1080 screen with more screen area added on to the sides. Currently they're around £230 IIRC so a good candidate to hit £200 if there's a big discount.

  3. #3
    HEXUS.social member Allen's Avatar
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    Re: New Monitor(s)

    Thanks, but not sure I like the look of such a wide monitor... Would look weird watching films that aren't in that format. Plus how many games support those odd resolutions?

    Still unsure if I should just get a new "gaming" monitor, or a new "video/surfing" monitor, or just get two reasonably priced monitors (I like monitors being the same).

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    Re: New Monitor(s)

    Quote Originally Posted by Allen View Post
    Plus how many games support those odd resolutions?
    Support seems to be pretty good. Any game that supports eyefinity/surround is likely to support it too. WSGF checks the games they test for 21:9 support
    http://www.wsgf.org/

    As for films, the format was originally introduced for TVs so wider aspect ratio movies could be watched without letterboxing.

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    Re: New Monitor(s)

    Quote Originally Posted by EndlessWaves View Post
    LG's Adaptive Sync 2560x1080 screens are interesting. Nominal diagonal is 29" but because they're a different aspect ratio they're not as big as they sound. They're essentially a 23/24" 1920x1080 screen with more screen area added on to the sides. Currently they're around £230 IIRC so a good candidate to hit £200 if there's a big discount.
    I've had my eyes on those for a while but having a nice Dell IPS already and the uncertainty that VR adds into the gaming-display arena, I am finding it hard to entertain spending money on a new monitor at the moment, black Friday prices or not!
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    HEXUS.social member Allen's Avatar
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    Re: New Monitor(s)

    Only one day left until Black Friday, any more ideas what I could do? Or heck, even what features I should be looking out for?

    I've been trawling the interweb trying to find sites that compare gaming monitors, and almost all of them have models that range from £150 to £300+, but apart from IPS vs TN, I cannot see any difference between them. Almost all monitors I have looked at see to have the exact same features (24", 1920x1080, 1ms GTG).

    Also, so many monitors these days and people looking for monitors seem to care about a refresh rate, is that really a worry since technically LCD monitors don't refresh?

    Am I over thinking it? Are they all one and the same and you pay for "branding", as it seems the more expensive monitors are Asus and Samsung and the cheaper ones are BenQ and AOC.

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    Re: New Monitor(s)

    Quote Originally Posted by shaithis View Post
    I've had my eyes on those for a while but having a nice Dell IPS already and the uncertainty that VR adds into the gaming-display arena, I am finding it hard to entertain spending money on a new monitor at the moment, black Friday prices or not!
    I can't see VR being any less niche than Stereoscopic 3D. If it appeals that's fine but it's not going to replace monitors.

    Quote Originally Posted by Allen View Post
    Also, so many monitors these days and people looking for monitors seem to care about a refresh rate, is that really a worry since technically LCD monitors don't refresh?
    They do refresh, if the picture never changed they wouldn't be much good. The standard LCD doesn't fade to black between frames which was why low refresh rates on CRTs produced flicker, although some of the better LCDs do as it reduces perceived ghosting.

    Higher refresh rates allow higher frame rates to be seen, giving improved smoothness and fluidity when they're present. You do need to be running at over 60fps in the first place though, so they're most appealing to people who are happy to spend the money to keep their graphics card up to running at high frame rates.

    Variable refresh rate like Adaptive Sync is a better solution, bringing improved smoothness to lower framerates. It's well worth considering buying one even if you currently have an nVidia card (who currently only support their proprietary G-sync version).

    Quote Originally Posted by Allen View Post
    Am I over thinking it? Are they all one and the same and you pay for "branding", as it seems the more expensive monitors are Asus and Samsung and the cheaper ones are BenQ and AOC.
    I don't think they're the same, but similar screens at the same price don't tend to vary much in picture quality.

  8. #8
    HEXUS.social member Allen's Avatar
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    Re: New Monitor(s)

    OK, after a lot of reading around, I think my best choice is to buy a second monitor to use for gaming, and use this Dell U2311H for everything else. I am split between two choices, both right now over my budget but still doable. Hoping the sales bring one of them down a bit. My two choices are:

    Asus VG248QE - 24", IPS panel, 1920x1080, 144Hz and 1ms GTG - £221.98
    BenQ GW2765HT - 27", IPS panel, 2560 x 1440, 60Hz and 4ms GTG - £279.32

    The Asus seems the better quality, higher refresh rate and lower GTG, but is only 24". The BenQ is bigger, but slightly worse quality. The real worry is, will my current setup provide enough power to see the difference with the higher refresh rate of the Asus or actually run the larger estate of the BenQ?

    I guess I have to decide between quality vs. quantity. Hopefully they will both have BF/CM deals which may be the clincher.

  9. #9
    HEXUS.social member Allen's Avatar
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    Re: New Monitor(s)

    Neither monitor had a deal on it for Black Friday (what a useless sales day that was). Now it's "Cyber Monday" and the prices have gone up on Amazon, no doubt they'll be brought back down again later on today in their "amazing sales deals"...

    Marketing!

  10. #10
    HEXUS.social member Allen's Avatar
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    Re: New Monitor(s)

    Amazon have put the price of the Asus VG248QE monitor up for Cyber Monday... It's now £235 (up from £221). I guess it will be on a deal at some point today with a "discount" back down to £221?

    However, I've seen it for £173 on Newegg, sorely tempted!

    Scrap that, thought Newegg was a retailer in the UK as well as the US. They add VAT and ridiculous shipping to that making it over £300!!!!!

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    Re: New Monitor(s)

    I can vouch for Asus VG248QE, i m using lightboost on it to get a CRT like feeling, but don't expect it to be nothing like an IPS screen. You will feel like you have downgraded but for works for gaming! On the other hand there are cheaper screens that let you use lightboost if you dont need 144hz refresh rate. Read below for more info.

    http://www.monitortests.com/forum/Th...ATI-and-NVIDIA

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